Economic Inequality from the Perspective of the Generational and Household Structures of Contemporary Japan

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  • 世代と世帯からみる経済格差
  • セダイ ト セタイ カラ ミル ケイザイ カクサ

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This study examines the mechanism of economic inequality in contemporary Japan, focusing on generational relationships and household structures, using an empirical analysis of income data. The data used in this study were drawn from the Comprehensive Survey of Peopleʼs Living Conditions, conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. I discuss three main topics in this study. I describe, first, the trend in the extent of income inequality since the mid 1980s in Japan; second, peopleʼs attitudes to their living conditions; and, third, focusing on marital status, the effect of the pattern in individual life courses on the extent of income inequality among single-person households of the elderly.<br>The number of three-generation households in Japan has declined, while its number of single-person and couple-only households has recently increased. An increase in social security benefits, particularly for female single-person households, has lowered the poverty rates; consequently, income inequality in households with elderly members has declined. However, the number of households with young members has declined, due mainly to the trend of delaying marriage and an increase in the number of the unmarried; the poverty rates for young households have thus increased. The discrepancy among age groups has therefore become less obvious, largely because of the worsening economic situation for young people and the improved one for the elderly. However, we cannot conclude that the social problems relating to income inequality have lessened simply because income gaps across age groups have narrowed. In fact, the attitudes to living conditions have worsened among all age groups, and the poverty rates among elderly single-person households and those headed by single mothers are very high. Therefore, unconventional lifestyles such as single motherhood and living alone in his/her old age remain directly associated with high economic risk, which can be regarded as a serious social problem for Japan.

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